Skip to primary navigation
Skip to main content
Skip to primary sidebar

Home
Contact
Portfolio
Search

Contact

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Primary Sidebar

Gayle McLeod

Enthusiastic family-feeder. Intrepid home cook. Recipe maker. Picture taker. Sharing everyday recipes that fuel our family life.

View Full Profile →

Join Me on Instagram!

File under: SUMMER ESSENTIALS {recipe included!}

File under: SUMMER ESSENTIALS {recipe included!}

The perfect balance of sweet + sour + salt + heat, plus a solid measure of umami via fish sauce + fried shallots makes this salad totally irresistible (IYKYK) I still remember the first time I tasted a green mango salad. My lunch sidekick (my daughter) and I tried a place new to us - Mr. Red Cafe. I almost always order soup when we go for Vietnamese food, but when this dish landed on the neighbouring table (remember pre-pandemic when the tables were crammed together?), I had to know what it was. Served with piles of the freshest herbs, their green mango salad had carrot, daikon pickles, and plump poached shrimp underneath a generous layer of crushed peanuts and fried shallots. I couldn’t stop eating it.

After running across a recipe for a green mango salad (with grilled tom yum prawns!) on Vy @beyondsweetandsavory’s blog, I rushed to made a version of it with what I had at home; then promptly added head-on prawns and Tom Yum sauce to my grocery list for next time.

Here’s how mine came together, although my mango admittedly could have been greener 🙃

For the salad
• 1 pound shell-on medium shrimp (try to get the ones that are “zippered” and de-veined)
• one large green mango, peeled and julienned
• ½ large cucumber, seeds removed and julienned
• 1 large fresh shallot, finely sliced
• ¼ cup each Thai basil leaves, mint leaves, cilantro leaves
• ¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped
• ¼ cup crispy fried shallots

For the lime dressing (Vy’s recipe)
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bird’s eye chili, minced (remove the seeds before mincing)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the shrimp and turn off the heat. Poach for 5 minutes or until the flesh is opaque. Run under cold water until cool, remove the shells/tails. Slice in half lengthwise, set aside.

Make the dressing in a small jar and shake gently until the sugar is dissolved.

Toss the salad ingredients with some of the dressing in a large bowl, reserving half the peanuts and shallots for serving.

Serve with additional dressing and reserved peanuts/shallots.

Enjoy!

I’ll take a sublimely textured macro shot over a

I’ll take a sublimely textured macro shot over a video in this feed any day. Just sayin’ 😏

But I did also include a couple bts clips, because we all like those too, don’t we?🤷🏻‍♀️

I captured these little beauties a few weeks ago but I’m happy to still see a few salmon berries still clinging to their stems on the trails here. I’ve linked up a beautifully written and informative piece on the significance of these berries and their relationship to salmon (beyond the fact they look so similar to fish roe) in @hakaimag, by ‘Cúagilákv (Jess Housty) of the Haíɫzaqv nation.

Wishing you all a happy Sunday!

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/thriving-together-salmon-berries-and-people/

#salmonberries #macrophotography

Perfectly cooked and seasoned edamame = the green

Perfectly cooked and seasoned edamame = the green equivalent to potato chips, change my mind 😆… #betchacanteatjustone

I’m kinda picky about how they’re prepared so here’s how I do it:

Blanch the frozen pods in salted water for 3-4 minutes: they should be bright green and the beans still firm but tender. No one here likes mushy beans 🙅🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Drain and transfer to a bowl then drizzle with a conservative amount of toasted sesame oil, sprinkle with flaky sea salt (I love smoked Maldon salt for this), and finally a few sesame seeds if you have them handy. Toss and enjoy!

If you’re game for a little heat, a dusting of nanami togorashi is perfect 👌

Does anyone know how many edamame is too many edamame to eat in one sitting? Asking for a friend 🤣 #cantstopwontstop

#edamame #snackinspo #foodstylist #realsimple

Let’s see if I remember how to do this whole Ins

Let’s see if I remember how to do this whole Instagram thing 🤪😂

Finally had the time and space to shoot some new personal work and I’m glad to be back, starting with these juicy melons 🍉🍈 Swipe for more 👉

I highly recommend buying one of every melon at the same time to fully appreciate the differences in colour, texture, and flavour 🤩🙌 Also, Tajín with melon is one of my favourite things… if you haven’t tried it yet, add it to your list of things to eat this summer.

I shared some behind the scenes of how I shot this in my stories at the time, but if you missed it and want to know more, let me know ☺️

#summervibes #melon #acolorstory

Lemony Quinoa Tabbouleh! 🍋🌱🍅✨ Recalli

Lemony Quinoa Tabbouleh! 🍋🌱🍅✨

Recalling our favourite Tabbouleh recipe after discovering it was recently featured online @elleatable 🙆🏻‍♀️🎉🙌

Zesty and herbaceous, this innovated version of a Lebanese tabbouleh will be the perfect side to whatever we’re grilling for dinner, and leftovers make for the best quick lunch during the week (I love it with a chilled 7 minute egg on the side 👌).
⁣
⁣
Plenty of fresh parsley and a hint of mint lead the way, with the tang of lemon and sweet acidity of tomato, followed up by the subtle, lingering bite of fresh garlic and shallot.
⁣
Grab the easy recipe link in my tap bio, or right here:

https://myfamilyfoodlife.com/2020/04/27/lemony-quinoa-tabbouleh-salad/⁣

Happy Sunday, friends! Hope you’re all doing well ❤️⁣⁣
⁣⁣

⁣⁣
⁣⁣#tabbouleh #saladsofinstagram #instasalads

Food Styling 101 🤓 Ready? Set. Go! (or SAVE for

Food Styling 101 🤓 Ready? Set. Go! (or SAVE for later 😅)

👉 SWIPE for demo images 👉

CREAMY SOUPS
• room temp works best (for all soups, really 🙃)
• fill the bottom portion of the bowl with something like instant potatoes to take up the void and create a platform for soup components/garnishes. BONUS is that you use way less product for the shot – these three generously filled bowls were achieved with less than 2 cups of soup 👍
• creamy, blended soups = BORING! Add contrasting garnishes for POP and interest.

ICE CREAM
(when you discover there is a time and a place for faux ice cream, you’re going to love knowing how to use it 👍)
• mix icing sugar and shortening or prepared frosting until you achieve a play doh-like consistency – use an ice cream scoop as you mix and see if it behaves like ice cream
• make a few scoops and set aside on a tray until you find your HERO
• use the other scoops in the bottom of your dish and place the hero on top
• garnish with ALL the fun toppings until you feel like a kid again
• take your time getting the perfect shot because NOTHING IS MELTING 😂🤣

THE BEAUTY BURGER
• Protect that hero bun like your career depends on it 😂
(Seriously tho – I’m still sorry about how loud I yelled, “NOOOOOOOOO!” at our pup when he stole my only decent pretzel bun 😭
• apply the sauce with a dropper or syringe AFTER the burger is assembled & on set
• choose a red but very firm tomato to get clean slices
• use pins and skewers to keep everything in place so nothing wobbles
• undercook the burger patty to avoid the dreaded SHRINKAGE 😬🙅🏻‍♀️

I could go on but, I’m off to teach these exact tips and more to Darina @gastrostoria’s food photography class @van.arts today. Wish me luck! Any questions, drop them in the comments 👇

Images & styling by yours truly 🙋🏻‍♀️

#foodstyling #beautifulfood #commercialfoodphotography #vancouverfoodstylist

Spring blooms make the best cocktail garnishes. Th

Spring blooms make the best cocktail garnishes. The end. 🌸💞🌺

Kicking off the week with this lil’ beauty ...

“SAKURA” inspired by a recipe I found from Adam @bittersandbrew. After a few of my own tweaks, because I can’t leave well enough alone 🤪, the recipe went like this:

serves one but you should probably just double it 😆

1.5 oz @suntory_rokugin gin
1 oz Nigori Sake
.5 oz yuzu liqueur (optional)
1 oz fresh lemon juice
1 oz hibiscus simple syrup
2 dashes orange bitters
egg white

Put everything in a shaker and dry shake without ice for 30 seconds to aerate the egg whites. Add ice and shake for another 30 seconds until chilled. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with fresh blossoms if ya got ‘em 🌸👌

If you followed my stories over the weekend you’ll know that I used fresh magnolia petals with a few dried hibiscus for the syrup but, to be honest, the gingery flavour of the fresh petals was lost in the combo 🤷🏻‍♀️ So, unless you have a bunch of magnolia blooms lying around, just skip it and use hibiscus 👍

I hope you all enjoyed the weekend. Stay safe, friends!

#cocktailsofinstagram #prettydrinks #garnishgamestrong #imbibe

Another view of that delish homemade lemony pasta

Another view of that delish homemade lemony pasta with asparagus I’ve been going on about 👏🙌

The last part of this meal was a crunchy, toasty, hazelnut pangrattato with lemon zest and parsley. This rustic breadcrumb topping takes just minutes to make and we regularly add variations of it to pasta and even salads for an extra hit of texture and flavour. Here’s my recipe but it’s super forgiving. Feel free to use it as a guide ☺️

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• ⅓ cup hazelnuts, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• ⅓ cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• zest from one lemon, finely grated or minced

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat and add the olive oil and hazelnuts. Stir for 2-3 minutes until the nuts are slightly toasted, then add the breadcrumbs. Stir well to coat the crumbs with the oil, then keep stirring/tossing frequently to ensure the breadcrumbs toast evenly. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir for another 1-2 minutes or until the garlic is fragrant but not yet golden. Transfer to a bowl then add the parsley and lemon zest. Toss to combine and try not to eat it ALL STRAIGHT OUTTA THE BOWL 😆 It’s seriously so good!

A little about the image details... I thought that a diptych would be fun to create now that I have a macro lens🕺🏻👏

Pasta on the left was shot with 100mm then I switched to my 50mm for the wider, overhead view of the final dish 🤓 Lighting set up was a little different between shots... I’ll post a BTS of the set up in my stories 👍

#diptych #homemadepasta #asparagus #foodstylist #recipeshare

Satisfaction level 💯🙌🤩 Homemade, lemon-sc

Satisfaction level 💯🙌🤩 Homemade, lemon-scented pasta to go with that beautiful asparagus... #springfood

Sorry (not sorry) for the frequency of macro shots but, SOMEBODY 🙋🏻‍♀️ got a sweet new lens 😆😜

I’ve wanted a 100mm macro lens for so long, but didn’t need one for the type of work I was getting. Well, that WANT turned into a NEED recently and so if you’re looking for me, I’ll just be over here searching for ALL THE TEXTURE 🤓📸

I feel like half my days are spent trying to justify prop and gear purchases 🤣 Anyone else?!

Recipe via @pastasocialclub 🙌

Sign up for our newsletter to get fresh ideas, recipes & tips delivered straight to your inbox.

First Name

Email address:

Leave this field empty if you're human:

Let’s Get Social

Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twitter

Copyright © 2021 My Family Food Life on the Foodie Pro Theme

error: Content is protected !!

%d bloggers like this: